The man who tried to save Paul Walker from the fiery blaze has been revealed to be his childhood friend of more than 25 years, Newt Wimer. He was just around the corner when he heard the sound of a crash and raced to the scene. When he saw that his friends were in trouble, he tried to put the fire out. He also tried to pull Paul from the burning car. His arms were badly burned from his efforts. Policemen had to pull him away to save his life.

The 37-year-old stuntman and Paul had gone to high school together at Village Christian School in Sun Valley, California, and remained close friends since. Wimer had even played an active role in Walker’s charity, Reach Out WorldWide and was an engineer on Walker and Rodas’ racing team, Always Evolving.

“Newt is absolutely devastated by what has happened. He is a brave man and he did everything he could that day,” a friend of Wimer’s told reporters.

The friend continued, “Losing Paul and Roger is such a massive blow to this group and this community. Not only were they hugely well-respected, popular guys, they were so important to many different businesses and charities. The ramifications of their deaths will go on for a long time.”

Newt has been working with the Weather Channel on the show Weather Proof.